


i wanna know what love is and i want you to show me

by anonymice



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, guess who's back with more badly written plotless cheese!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 02:37:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11727744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymice/pseuds/anonymice
Summary: “When you told me to take my shirt off, this isn’t really what I was expecting.”Suga's been holding himself back from what he wants, though it's very difficult to do that when Daichi offers to participate in his art project. It's also the opportunity that grants him the courage he's been searching for.





	i wanna know what love is and i want you to show me

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I've basically had this idea for Suga painting on Daichi's back lying in my docs gathering dust for ages now, as well as also really liking the idea of mutual pining where Suga figures out that Daichi has a crush on him (I'm just a big ol' sap really aha) and all that's left is for them is to confess. I also needed a bit of a distraction for my brain so I tried to finish it and this is the result. I've had a quick look over, but I'll fix any other typos etc. tomorrow. 
> 
> The title is originally from [Take You There by The Ready Set x Kaptan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1pH31dDdhA) but I heard it from [this edit](https://soundcloud.com/djclickbait/sh0w-m3) of it instead, aha. (Though a lovely friend informed me it's originally from an 80s song which is cool!)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“When you told me to take my shirt off, this isn’t really what I was expecting.”

It takes one fluid motion for Daichi to expose his back to the sunlight and really, Suga thinks, it’s a work of art in itself.

He’s not a complete stranger to seeing Daichi like this; volleyball changing rooms bless him with a view he peeks at when he’s sure the kouhai aren’t looking. 

But the implication in his words still send a treacherous thrill down his spine, igniting fireworks in his stomach that set off sparks in his body. He’s glad that Daichi can’t see him right now, as heat crawls up his neck, resting on his cheeks. Suga knows he’s being silly, overthinking what is most definitely something unintentional, a slip of the tongue at best, but the reckless part of him can’t help but feel _excited_ by it. 

Suga is observant, a fact that anyone on the team can attest to. So it doesn’t escape him, the slight changes in Daichi’s recent behaviour. He asks for help with subjects he’s already good at, stubbornly engages in expanding his animal plushie collection and accepts to help Suga with an art project he barely knows much about. There are smaller things too, like how Daichi rests a hand on his shoulder for too long to simply be a motivational gesture, or the way he’ll offer a hand even when Suga is capable of lifting himself up off the ground. 

Suga’s thoughts are forming cotton candy clouds again, which don’t always lead to the best outcome. He knows if he stays quiet for too long, Daichi will get that concerned look on his face, because Daichi never lets him stay down for long.

He takes a chance and prays. 

“Oh?" He hums. "What _were_ you expecting?”

There are some traits that truly define Sawamura Daichi. Determined, hard-working, resilient. (There are other things too, things Suga only admits to himself with the darkness of night as his witness).

Subtlety is not one of them.

The transformation is immediate. Daichi’s entire body stills, the only sound being a splutter as he trips over his words. Predictably, the tips of his ears start to turn red as he clears the frog noises from his throat. It’s cute, Suga thinks, but it’s also a prime teasing opportunity. 

“Is that paint on your ear, Daichi? I haven’t even started yet.” 

He knows he’s getting too caught up, steamrolling ahead when he should be cautious instead. But it feels so easy around Daichi, so natural to bicker and banter like this. To take it to the next level. He hopes.

Daichi huffs and Suga barely makes out his grumble of ‘just get on with it’. He still sits with his back straight, no doubt an effort to preserve some dignity. It’s rather endearing, and even though Daichi can’t see him, Suga hides a smile with his hand. 

With his colour choices ready and paint mostly mixed, Suga takes a second to marvel at how broad his canvas for the next hour is. Unlike himself, Daichi’s skin is a darker, earthier tone. The light through the window makes his skin glow, bright and beautiful. Suga can’t resist the temptation to reach out. 

He gives in, just a little, trailing a feather light touch down between his shoulderblades. Daichi lets loose a shiver as Suga glides over the curve of his spine. His heart beats faster as he decides to be brave, gently resting his palm. Part of him wishes the assignment had been sculpting, if only for an excuse to commit each muscle to sharp, tactile memory. That’s when Daichi stiffens.

Suga jolts his arm back, aware of what he’s just done. For the second time, he’s glad that Daichi can’t see him. The embarrassment hits him full force in the chest, making him cringe. 

“Suga?” He hears Daichi asks, in a soft, searching tone, a whisper that meanders through his own thoughts.

 _What am I doing?_ Suga berates himself. There’s a danger in overstepping the line between friendship and something more and maybe Daichi feels the same way but he can’t risk losing what he already has. What if Daichi isn’t ready? It’s too much to ask, with Nationals so close, the captain has too much on his shoulders-

“Suga.” 

Daichi turns his head, as much he possibly can sitting backwards on a chair, and Suga wills himself to look away from Daichi’s face. He can see it in his eyes, the question Daichi wants to ask. Suga answers it before he can speak.

“I’m okay, it was just a static shock,” Suga assures, with a wave of his hand. “Now turn around so I can start my career as a famous artist.” 

Daichi rolls his eyes, appearing to be convinced, but from the way he looks at him a moment longer before turning around, it’s evident that he hasn’t fully bought it. Suga knows he’ll bring it up later somehow, maybe through an unannounced visit at his house the next afternoon or a text later at night. Daichi faces the court head-on, but he rarely treats emotion in the same way. If it gets too much Suga knows he’ll intervene but for now, he’s grateful for the silence. He needs to get back on track.

The guidance is brief; a medium of body art and a vague theme of a favourite moment. A few of his classmates are taking the ambitious option, choosing to use one of their peers as a live model and paint smaller, less time-consuming pieces. He’d contemplated it too, showing off Daichi to everyone, but he knows Daichi isn’t comfortable in the spotlight. Behind the scenes, in the background of Suga’s familiar messy room was more of his thing, he’d said.

Hastily, he pats down Daichi’s back with a cloth, making sure to remove any moisture on his skin. It does nothing to calm the acrobats doing backflips in his stomach, nor does it lessen the redness returning to his cheeks. It’s ridiculous, he thinks to himself, but he can’t - doesn’t want to - back out now.

He starts with the outline of a large black crow in flight. It’s a simple and rather obvious centerpiece, though he plans to add some flair to it. Thankfully, Daichi isn’t allergic to the paint; he’d made sure to test it earlier. (And if he had been, Asahi was in place as his backup victim).

Suga throws himself into his painting, fully immersed in his art, with only the occasional instruction for Daichi to remain still here and there. He blows away at the strands covering his eyesight, before running a paint-covered hand through his hair. Daichi wouldn’t be the only one needing a shower after this. He pokes out a tongue, forcing himself to concentrate before he can leap down that daydream-inducing rabbit hole.

The crow doesn’t take him too long and Daichi’s insistent endurance means he can move on to the next part straight away. He starts with the branches, sprouting them from the tips of the crow’s wings. It takes him a few drops of red into green to find the right shade of olive, and it pleases him to see how perfectly the colour complements Daichi’s skin. He surrounds the leaves with flowers, dappling white over their pink petals to make them really bloom. 

Yet, there’s still one element left to finsh. Suga starts with a base of white hot feathers, creating spirals that billow out of the crow’s back. He builds upon the colours, warm oranges and bright yellows overlapping, adding charcoal black to the tips of the flame. A phoenix tail, setting Daichi’s skin ablaze.

It’s done. 

Growth, victory and rebirth. It’s a simple representation, symbolic rather than literal. But seeing his team win a crucial match he was able to play in, led by Daichi, drawing upon what they had learnt, it makes him feel triumphant. No longer are they the fallen crows, trampled underneath the powerhouses. Now they start on equal footing, taking to the skies. 

All that’s left is to wash his hands, take a picture or three and get them printed. He does the first one with ease (though he’ll deal with this hair and face later) and the third will be done at school. The second task needs a little preparation though.

“Straighten up, Daichi,” Suga instructs with a light swat on his bare shoulder, “A captain shouldn’t be slouching.”

“Maybe if you hadn’t taken so long I’d be sitting up properly,” Daichi replies, earning him another smack.

“You can’t rush art, you know. Besides, you’re the one who didn’t want a break.”

“You’d probably have punched me if I did.” Automatically, Suga balls up his fist and registers Daichi’s laughter after the loud, frustrated exhale that follows.

“Told you,” he says with that smug tone in his voice, still chuckling as Suga forcefully presses the button to take another picture. 

“Stop laughing you big bully," Suga whines, "your shoulders are shaking too much,” Suga scolds him lightly, but he can’t help but smile a little fondly too. 

This is what Suga loves, this back and forth, and what he doesn’t want to lose. 

Eventually, Daichi simmers down, allowing Suga to capture the photos he needs for his project (and, though he won’t admit it out loud, for himself). 

“Let me see,” Daichi asks, with his shoulders traitorously hunched over. 

Resisting the urge to prove him right, Suga restrains himself from punching Daichi’s vulnerable, muscular bicep and and moves round to pass him the camera. It occurs to him that this is not the best possible course of action, moving from an exposed back to an equally exposed front. Suga exercises a hefty amount of self-control to not ripen his cheeks a tomato-red again. 

Carefully, he places the camera in Daichi’s hand, with a different kind of acrobat-flip emerging in his stomach. He knows Daichi is too nice to say anything bad about his art but it still makes him nervous, waiting for judgment. 

There’s a pause that feels agonizingly long, kickstarts his mind into the beginning of a worry spiral he knows is misplaced. But then Daichi raises his eyebrows and gives a heart-stopping grin and sure enough, just like that, the tension melts away.

“Suga,” he hears him say, breathless, “this is absolutely stunning.”

He takes in Daichi’s expression of awe, watching intently as he traces over the photo with his finger. Normally, this would be when Suga would agree, declaring something along the lines of “Of course it is!” while nudging Daichi’s shoulder. 

But now, standing in front of Daichi, in this small, intimate sphere they have created, he feels bashful rather than bold. Of course, Daichi picks up on it, glancing up at Suga in question, and that’s when it all starts.

“You have paint on your face,” Daichi murmurs, raising himself up to kneel on the chair, now at level height with Suga. Heat spreads under Suga’s skin as Daichi smooths his thumb lightly over his cheek. It’s a futile attempt, as the paint has been dry for too long. (The pesky, hopeful part of Suga thinks Daichi knows that too).

His mind yells at him, to stop, pull away, make an excuse. But Daichi isn’t doing any of that either. And what Suga ‘should’ do and ‘wants’ to do are two different things.

Daichi moves forward, slow but purposeful. He stops close enough that Suga can see the soft lashes of his eyes as they start to flicker shut. It strikes Suga how cliche it all is, Daichi’s expression of concentration, how he waits like the gentleman he is for Suga to close the gap. 

All his senses feel amplified; the ticking of the clock, the creaking of the chair, the sound of his heart. He’s desperate to inch forward, to give in to what he wants. But the words tumble out his mouth before he can catch them.

“What about Nationals?” Suga blurts out, finally letting it free. 

“What about it?” He hears Daichi reply, soft yet straightforward, like there could be no problem at all.

Suga chews his lip, his mind conjuring up a storm. _How is he being so calm about this?_

“It’ll be too much,” he answers, “it’s too much to ask of you.” 

There’s a hand on his other cheek, a gentle invitation to continue. Suga takes it like a lifeline, peering up to look at Daichi properly before he speaks. 

“What if this - us - what if gets in the way?” He can barely hear himself over the blood pounding in his head. In his dreams it seems so much easier, rose-tinted flashes of what could be, what he wants there to be. In reality, each second feels like a minute as he waits for Daichi to admit he was joking, that he was just messing around, that he doesn’t want to risk their friendship-

“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have faith in us.”

Daichi gives him that smile, the one that reaches up to the corners of his eyes, making them crinkle. 

He sounds so _sure_ about it, Suga thinks, and that’s what settles him, makes him smile too.

Daichi’s still smiling as he moves closer, eyes fluttering closed again. A surge of confidence runs through Suga, replacing his worry. He feels his wild side kick into gear and really, who can blame him when Daichi is taking five years to-.

He feels little giddy at the realisation, letting out a giggle at the thought of his soon-to-be first kiss. The sound prompts Daichi to crack open an eye and that’s when Suga goes for it. Without hesitation, he slides his hands around Daichi’s neck to pull him forward and finally, their lips meet, the moment he’s been waiting for-

In hindsight, he really should have told Daichi to get off the chair first.

Suga lets out a yelp as he staggers backwards, hearing the chair crash as Daichi stumbles over it. Thankfully, the force isn’t enough to push him on his back and flatten him against the carpet. Daichi’s fairly stable, clutching at his forearms for support (though when Suga thinks about how that scenario could have otherwise played out, it generates a rabbit hole he knows he’ll be revisiting later). 

“You are a health hazard,” Suga laughs, pulling Daichi up securely on his feet.

“You’re the one who-!” Daichi cuts himself off as he places a hand to his lips, his face starting to flush. Suga lets out a deep guffaw at the dumbfounded expression on Daichi's face, like he can’t quite believe what just happened, even though he was the one who initiated it. 

“What did I do, Dai?” He teases with a tone that’s anything but innocent, serving only to make the captain lose even more of his composure. 

“You know what you did, Koushi,” Daichi shoots back and _oh_ , that’s a soundbyte he’s definitely filing away for later. 

There are still things to discuss and parts to navigate in this new road ahead of them. It’s exciting and scary and he can’t be certain of what the future will bring. But for now, Suga allows himself get lost with Daichi, taking the next steps as a pair. 

Together.

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had a big bout of writer's block these past few months which doesn't seem like it's gonna go away, and tbh I'm still in the middle of it and I think it's v evident in how stilted and reptitive this feels to my other works, along with the rushed ending and lots of other little things, but I just wanted it out my system. That being said, thanks so much for reading! 
> 
> please feel free to yell with me about daisuga [twitter](https://twitter.com/valorsimplicity) / [tumblr](http://valourandsimplicity.tumblr.com/)!


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